Tag: sinkhole damage

In Florida, two homes were recently swallowed up and several others had to be evacuated. Sinkhole insurance remains a rare thing among homeowners, even when they have seen other homes swallowed up by these occurrences. The reason for nearly all of them is exactly the same. That said, this wasn’t good news for the property owners whose lives have been devastated after losing their homes to a rapidly growing Florida sinkhole. The coverage isn’t without its appeal but it comes with a price tag many feel they cannot afford. Unfortunately,…

Homeowners are likely to receive unwanted news from the bad gift they received on Christmas Eve. Homes damaged on Christmas Eve in suburban Detroit are unlikely to be covered by sinkhole insurance. Experts are saying that while homeowners should still file claims with their insurers, much or all of the damage from the Fraser sinkhole is unlikely to be covered. Standard insurance policies contain exclusions when it comes to perils such as sinkholes. Sinkhole insurance is frequently quite uncommon due to the careful wording of homeowners insurance policies. They contain…

The increase in this type of damage is starting to make a mark on several of the state’s industries. Although sinkholes have always been around, there has been a sudden increase in the number of homeowners insurance claims relating to their damage throughout Florida, causing engineers, scientists, real estate developers, and other experts at a difficult conflict. Many believe that it is the activity of humans that is causing this spike in sink holes. There are some geological experts that have stated that they feel that there is a growing…

Sinkholes that are destroying Florida houses are now costing insurance companies in that state hundreds of thousands of dollars as claims begin rolling in. In fact, in three claims alone linked to sinkholes that cracked floors and broke water pipes, insurers had to pay out over $500,000. Among those three houses in question, none of the homeowners used the money to try to repair their homes. Instead, they are among the hundreds living in Florida’s “sinkhole alley” – which consists of the counties of Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco, and Pinellas –…

Sinkholes have been quite troublesome in Florida recently. Earlier in the year, the state was inundated with insurance claims regarding damages caused by sinkholes. The majority of these claims, however, were fraudulent, as regulators discovered little to no evidence of sinkholes when investigating properties claiming to have suffered damage. The overwhelming number of falsified claims coming from property owners has caused many insurers to limit the extent of their coverage or otherwise raise the premiums associated with sinkhole insurance. Citizens Property Insurance, the state-funded insurance program, too will be raising…

As insurers all over the country continue to receive criticism from policyholders, and even then federal government, many of them continue to seek rate increases. Fidelity National Property and Casualty Insurance of Jacksonville, Florida, is proposing a rate hike of 27%. The proposal is a move to recoup the monetary losses of last year, according to vice president John Giorgianni. State regulators are currently reviewing the proposal and it may be subject to additional review by the Department of Health and Human Services. Giorgianni insists that the rate hikes is…

Florida Governor Rick Scott has signed off on a bill that will change the state’s property insurance regulations. The bill was proposed several months ago and has been the subject of controversy since its introduction. Opponents of the bill call its provisions “anti-consumer.” State officials, however, say that the bill is a necessary measure to combat fraud. The Governor approved the law only six days after it arrived on his desk, drawing the ire of a number of consumer advocacy groups who stood in opposition of it. The new law…